Folk Art - European Heritage - Premium Quality Prints

"Gothic" is a general term applied to the arts of the High Middle Ages; Although the term was indeed coined as a reference to the goths - the barbarian ancestors of medieval Europe - this distinction was only made in the 17th century and it was done so contemptuously to imply that the style was somehow 'uncouth' or 'barbarous' (Perhaps so when compared to the eccentric, extravagant and flamboyant "baroque" style of the 17th century). The so-called Gothic style itself, however, has practically nothing in common with the culture of that Germanic tribe (That is, the Goths) that overran the Roman empire in the early Christian era - Nothing save for the fact that the blood of these Goths still coursed in the veins of many Europeans. The Gothic style itself was developed in northern France in the 12th century and eventually spread throughout the rest of western Europe from the middle of the 12th century to the early 16th century whereupon each region made contributions more or less to the overall style - because of its ubiquity the style became known as "International Gothic" in the pictorial arts - In this regard, the Gothic style can be thought of as a truly pan-European art style. Gothic eventually became the national style of Germany - Praised by German philosophers such as Goethe and Alfred Rosenberg to name a couple.
Although the Gothic style came about during the Christian era, it is far less a testament of that alien doctrine than it is a testament of the white race that created it - for if Gothic were a natural product of Christianity and not the blood, we would see Gothic Architecture everywhere that there were Christians, including China, Africa, and South America - but this is clearly not the case at all; no, the Gothic style is not Christian, but white European to its core - this could not be more clearly evinced than by this depiction of Odin, the chief God of the Heathen pantheon, who appears perfectly at home amidst pointed arches, intricate tracery, stained glass and other trappings of the Gothic style.
This intricately detailed work by Ulf shows strong influence by the works of Jan Van Eyck in whom Gothic style could be said to have reached an apogee.
Besides being a remarkably powerful representation of the All-father, this piece is an exploration into the very heart of European art itself.